The Athosian Runner
by Wedjatqi
Summary: AU reality, in which another Runner comes into contact with those from Atlantis. JT. Inspired by the episode Tracker S5.


**Disclaimers**: I own no part of the Stargate world, I make no money from this and so forth.

**Note: **Been meaning to write this idea for ages and this episode reminded me and gave me some inspiration to finally put this idea into form.

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The two pies sat just inside the window, the daylight air cooling them. The scent of them, of the kita fruit inside the pastry, smelt sweet and succulent. It had been a long time since she had eaten anything so well cooked, so tempting.

She edged closer to the open window, hidden from view by the tight press of the houses and overhanging thatches. The scent of the pies grew stronger. She crouched down into the shadows and looked around her, careful not to be seen. Then, she looked once again at the two pies.

The crust was lightly browned, cracked in places, which allowed her to see the kita pieces inside, likely cooked in its juices with spices, and it looked wonderful.

It had been so long since she had eaten anything like that, and it called to her now. Her stomach begging for it, for its sweetness and for the simplicity of something so long denied her.

She rose up slightly, peering into the room beyond the pies. There was no sign of anyone beyond the room, though she could hear voices from the second floor above, discussions about medicine. She would not be seen.

There was a knife lying ready near one pie, and she reached for it, constantly checking the room and the alley between buildings around her. She set the clean knife into the closest pie, breaking through the crust and down through the lush cooked fruit inside. A second cut and a large slice had been formed. She set the knife under the edge of it and lifted. It lifted perfectly, crumbling only slightly as she freed it quickly, turning it into the open palm of her other hand.

She set the knife aside, and then reached into the bag around her middle. She had little for trade, and usually even less time to make the trades. She usually found what she needed this way, sneaking items away and leaving something in return. She did not call it stealing, for she left something behind each time, and because she would hate herself to become an idle uncaring thief, despite the situation in which the Ancestors had placed her these past years.

She set down a small broken bracelet beside the pie, which she had found on the forest floor on another unnamed planet, but the links of the bracelet were good and there were several small pretty stones set into it. If it was fixed it could be sold by the pie's chef.

Her 'trade' acquired, she quickly ducked down under the window's ledge and hurried away down the alleyway to eat her slice further away where she would be more hidden.

She found a space within the protection of two twisted trees stuck in the limited space of three houses built up around them. She settled right into the shadows of their twisted trunks, sat up from the ground among the lifted roots, the struggling trees attempting to gain any space they could.

She was already on the outskirts of the village and she knew that no Wraith had arrived on the planet yet, so for now, she took the opportunity to settle for a moment and eat her slice of sweet kita fruit pie.

It tasted wonderful, just as she had imagined and she wolfed it down far faster than she should, especially as it would be highly unlikely she would find something like this again any time soon. As she chewed on the last of the crust, she heard raised voices, and it drew her attention towards the road space just visible around one building in front of her. She held still, wondering if her trade had been discovered, though she thought it unlikely that such noise would be made about a single slice.

She quickly finished the last of it, as she peered through the shadows, around the trunk of one tree, to the tiny area of the road that she could see. A woman appeared into view, her arms waving wildly. She was calling for help for a family member.

There was a day when Teyla would have rushed forward to see if there was anything that she could do to help, but those days were long gone. It was the best service to everyone that she did _not_ help anyone. In fact, she had remained too long here already.

She heard movement from the road and decided to take her leave of the village now, whilst there was noise to distract people's attentions. She dropped down from her perch among the trees and slipped away between the sides of two houses, keeping low all the way.

The forest ran close to this village, but first she had to wind her way around a few more houses to reach the outer fence. She made her way there easily, slipping across open spaces when no one was looking. She had noticed that many in the settlement were sick, and that most were talking of it around the village, but since she would not come in contact with anyone, she did not fear for herself. But, if any of them saw her, they may not take too kindly to her presence. If they knew what she was, and what she could bring upon them if the Wraith found out she had been here…

The outer fence came into view and she made her way through shadows, back the way she had entered, to the tree set close to the fence. It was too far away to use as means to climb over the high fence, but it was close enough to help her. She ran towards the tree, jumped and gripped the highest branch above her and twisted her body up and towards the fence. She sailed over the highest point of the fence and she twisted again, to bring herself down to the ground as quickly as possible.

She landed silently, poised in the muddy shadowed space overhung by the fence. The forest was ahead and she dashed for it, keeping low.

As soon as she entered the forest, she relaxed slightly, or as much as she ever could. Forests always provided the best protection and means for her to survive. She could find most of what she needed among the trees and the forests on most worlds were usually uninhabited, meaning that local peoples were less likely to fall pretty to the Wraith who hunted her.

It had been two days since she had killed the last hunting party who had been tracking her, so she had had time here to prepare for the next. It was the only way to stay ahead, to survive. The only problem was that the more successful at survival that she had become meant that more now hunted her. There had been times when she had been left alone, left alone for several days, but rarely. She knew they would be on their way, for they always knew where she was and she had no way to stop them finding her.

As she moved at a comfortable pace through thick vegetation, always taking a route that would leave the least amount of disturbance that could be used to trace her, she found herself lingering on the thoughts of the pie. She wondered if the pie had been baked for a sick child upstairs in the house, and she felt a pang of guilt, as she always did when she had to make silent hidden 'trades'. Everything she wore had been acquired the same way, from other neglected windowsills, gardens and trading stalls not well manned. She had wrapped herself up in stolen goods, but everything she owned she wore on her. Dark clothes from different scraps of cloth and leather, knives of various lengths and designs collected from discovered dead she had passed. She had seen too much destruction, even before her own nightmare that had led her here. That night in which her people had been culled so severely, her father and her taken together. How she had been dragged away down a ship's corridor as she had watched her father and friends cocooned up for feeding. He had shouted his last words to her, telling her he loved her and that she should trust in the Ancestors, but his words had ended in screams as he had disappeared from view, and they had been not his alone.

The Ancestors had abandoned her that day, left her to be a plaything of the Wraith, made to run and hide, to be flushed out and killed if they could. But, she had not been killed so easily, instead she had killed them, all of them sent after her. Years were passing though, and some of them with her having said barely a word to any other living being other than a scream of anger at Wraith as she fought to survive. Always to survive. Some days she wondered why she should continue, but those were fleeting moments, for deep down inside she would not surrender. She would never let _them_ win at anything. With each one she killed, she repaid the damage done to her father, her mother, and her people just a tiny fraction. It was a drop of water into a massive galaxy-wide ocean, but she knew that each Wraith she killed meant that at least one person had been saved somewhere.

The coldness appeared abruptly, as it always did when they arrived through the Circle of the Ancestors, and any amount of ease she had found vanished instantly. She broke into a run, turning in the direction of her first laid trap. She moved carefully around the area of the trap and then cut through to the trees behind, and began to climb up the largest.

The climb was easily, for she had spent years using trees to her advantage, and in no time she had sailed up it, settling herself out of view among foliage and shadow. From here, she could see out into the forest below for some distance and she stilled herself completely, waiting.

Inside, she could feel the Wraith growing closer, though her Gift could not tell her precisely how far or from which direction, it was a vital component to her having survived so long as their would be prey.

A flash of dark material in the distance through green drew her eyes and she knew the time was upon her. She ducked even lower into her shelter.

However, sudden explosive sounds rammed through the air, accompanied with shouts. She frowned, for it appeared some of the local peoples had been found in the forest after all. She held still, knowing that it would not last long and there was never any thing she could do by the time she got there, but the new explosives sounds echoed again. Other unfamiliar sounds mixed with the more easily recognised as she heard the overhead buzz of a Wraith craft. She heard it to the far right, swinging around in this direction, but then another loud explosion from above and she saw a brief burst of fire through the treetops. The constant buzz of the Wraith craft altered in pitch and stuttered as it passed far too close to the canopy overhead and then moved away behind her. She did not turn to look, but kept her attention on the forest floor below, but she heard the craft impact the ground in the distance. The fireball sent a warm breeze through the trees, swaying the leaves and branches around her. She leant back, fearing her position may be compromised, only to see movement down to the right. She leant forward as the branches resettled and she watched people running between the trees. They were firing weapons of some sort as they ran backwards, working together in a group.

She leant down closer to the branches around her, one hand outstretched to hold aside some leaves to allow her to view what was happening more clearly.

They were all dressed in the same black clothes, which were unfamiliar to her. There were six of them and they were being pursued by Wraith. However, she watched several Wraith fall under the unseen attack of the unfamiliar weapons. The sounds they made were rapid and she watched one Wraith vibrate under small impacts and drop to the ground.

Then movement down to the left drew her attention to see more Wraith, working forward to attack the new people's backs. However, there was more weapons fire and several more men appeared through the trees. One man, tall and swift, fired a different weapon, the flash of energy fire engulfing one Wraith in quick succession so that it fell down to the ground still.

Fascinated, she watched the fight continue below, as overhead there was a rush of another Wraith craft approaching. She glanced up this time, to see its dark underbelly pass overhead through the canopy, as it headed towards where its companion had crashed.

She looked back down to the fighting, watching as the Wraith closed in, but were held back to an amazing extent. She had heard rumours, through the villages she had slipped through over the last few years, of a new group of humans who had been fighting the Wraith with new advanced weapons. That these new people had arrived from the lost City of the Ancestors. She watched the fighting below, impressed by what she saw, though now she was watching closely she noticed that a few of the black dressed people were not warriors. Two were hanging back, cowering over another, for her to realise that it was an injured member of their team. They protected their own then.

Aggressive shouts drew her attention back to the left and she saw the tall man with long hair launch himself at two Wraith, clashing with them in quick successive hand to hand combat. She leant forward watching with heightened interest and an experienced eye.

Another man shouted, stood firm, firing his weapon out at five approaching Wraith. She watched the Wraith, noting how many more had been sent after her this time. Or was it that these Wraith had come here for these people instead, or as well as for her?

The Wraith were advancing still, having cut the one man off from the rest who had a stronger position set around their wounded man. The tall longhaired man still fought, for these were highly skilled hunter Wraith. She saw some delight in the tall man's attitude as he fought – he enjoyed fighting Wraith. She knew that look, knew how it felt to feel revenge for a moment. But, his comrade was walking backwards, Wraith advancing around the trees, though one had been stopped. He was walking backwards in her direction, and directly in line for her trap set in the floor of the forest.

She tensed, willing the man to stop his direct route, but he had cut down another Wraith. There was nothing for him to see behind him as he retreated, keeping space between him and the Wraith that his weapon needed, for she had concealed the trap with skill. At the bottom of that trap there were sharpened stakes.

She looked back towards his enemies, three still alive and his companions were still fighting elsewhere.

She should not involve herself, but…

He was still retreating, his weapon against his shoulder, firing with precision, the edges of the trees exploding around the Wraith where they concealed themselves. There were too many of them hunting him alone. When he focused on one, another slipped forward to another tree. She looked back to the longhaired man, to see that he was firing up at two more Wraith who had appeared into the fight, who she suspected had been beamed down from the Wraith craft a short distance away. Everyone was occupied except her. She could not allow an innocent and brave man to be injured, if not killed, because of her trap.

Decision made, she gripped the branch below her and began to descend the tree as quickly, yet as quietly as she could. He was almost at the trap, his black boot heel landing only a hand's-breadth from the trap's concealed edge. Almost to the base of the massive tree, she dropped down onto a large branch and swung herself down.

She hit squarely in his shoulder, shoving him from his feet as she pushed him with her descent. She heard his startled grunt and felt him already twisting towards what he saw as a potential attack from her. They landed in shrubbery, his body turned towards hers, the weapon knocked from his hands, but his hands landing on her upper arms to hold her off him. They hit the ground with a combined impact, the breath forced from both their lungs. She immediately rolled away from him, reaching to her belt to draw a knife, feeling the Wraith descending upon them and she threw the blade up at the grim smile of the monster. It staggered backwards and then dropped from sight, having triggered her trap.

She jumped to her feet quickly as the other two Wraith appeared. The man still lay in the shrubs as he fired up at one and she went for the other closer one. She drew out another longer knife as she rushed at it. It hissed at her with recognition, confirming for her that he had been hunting her. He lashed out and she ducked, sliced and severed his hand from his arm. He howled and hissed, scratching at her with his other remaining hand. She turned away from that, punched out at his nose and then kicked him squarely in his belly, knocking his weight enough to stagger back. At which point, he lost his footing for a second, almost falling into the trap as well, but a burst of energy fire from the left engulfed him and he fell anyway. Another burst from the longhaired tall man's weapon washed over the Wraith to confirm its demise.

She turned, ready for more, only to see that only one Wraith remained, to the right where the rest of the black dressed people stood their ground, and it was soon shot down by the tallest man and his especially unusual weapon. Yet, as that last Wraith died, she could still feel coldness in the distance, for the Wraith would have the Circle of the Ancestors watched, and there was still one craft circling the skies somewhere above.

"Thanks," a male voice to her left drew her attention and she looked at him, the man she had saved from her own trap. He looked up from the Wraith filled trap to her. "I take it that's your handiwork?"

He had unusual eyes she noticed first, and there was a bright sparkle of life in them, no doubt from the resolution of the battle. He was tall, though not as tall as the man with the long hair, though this man's hair was unusual as well. She looked from the spiky hair to the eyes again, eyes set in a very handsome face.

"You should leave now," she told him. She was almost shocked to hear her own voice out loud.

The other black uniforms were gathering together, attention mixed between watching the trees around them and taking care of the injured man. The longhaired man was approaching her and the spiky haired man, and she sensed his suspicion about her and she felt her body tense. If people suspected a Runner, they could often act offensively and decisively. She did not wish to hurt anyone and this taller man looked as if he would be a challenge to knock aside.

"That's the last of them," he announced as he approached, his weapon in his hand still, his grip tight as his eyes fell on her. "They after you?" He demanded bluntly.

Teyla glanced away from them, though keeping them all in her peripheral vision. "You must go, they will be returning soon", she told them, as she tried to focus on estimating how far away the craft was and how soon it would turn back this way. There was no way to know how many Wraith were in the craft.

"The dart can't get through the trees," the first man replied, his voice implying that he was feeling more relaxed now the fighting was over.

She met his eyes again, nice eyes, that seemed curious. "They will easily trace this position," she told him. "And I have other traps laid out for them that you should avoid walking into," she added, surprising herself a little.

He smiled at her, a wide nice smile that made her feel warm. It had been a very long time since she had felt anything like that.

"I'll look where I'm walking next time," he replied.

She nodded, and smiled slightly back up at him.

"You hunting Wraith?" He asked glancing down at the trap again. "Seems a dangerous thing to do." He glanced off towards his people, studying them with the eyes of a leader checking on his people and the situation around them, before he looked back at her.

"It is not by my choice," she found herself telling him.

His expression changed, as she had feared it would when anyone realised what she was, and she realised she would very much have liked to have remained smiling with this man. His gaze took on a new assessment that slipped down to her weapons around her middle and one long knife set down along her thigh.

She turned away, unused to scrutiny, and also unwilling to see the further change in attitude when he realised that she was one marked by the Wraith for death. She reached down into the trap and pulled her knife from the first Wraith, wiped in on the grass, and then slid it back home at her waist. She stood up to look up at the man, who's eyes lifted to meet hers with a quickness that made her suspect he had not been looking at her weapons alone anymore. His expression returned to studied curiosity.

"You're a Runner?" He asked, but there wasn't the usual fear and anger to the name as he said it.

"Would you be those who live in the City of the Ancestors?" She asked in turn.

He smiled again and he nodded. "We're from Atlantis, yes. And we can help you."

She was surprised by that and frowned at him, slightly suspicious, but also intrigued by this unusual man with unusual kind smiling eyes.

"You've got a tracking device in your back?" He asked gesturing towards her. The taller man was almost to them. "We can remove it for you, free you from the cat and mouse game the Wraith have got you on."

She frowned at the term, but believed she understood his meaning. "Why would you do that?"

He shrugged with another smile. "You saved me, I save you."

She actually smiled at that. "Though, it was _my_ trap in the first place."

"Sheppard," another man called through the trees. "Can you save your Kirk thing for later! We need to get back to the Gate."

The man, now she knew to be called 'Sheppard', gave the distant man a long glare, but she could tell that he had been slightly reprimanded.

"They'll have the gate covered," the taller man said, his eyes on her.

"We need to get our people off this planet. If you help us get back to the Gate, we'll take that tracking device out of your back for you," Sheppard offered her, his tone no longer as soft as before, but he still had that sparkle in his eyes.

"What Gate?" She asked.

"The Circle of the Ancestors," the taller man replied.

"We call it a Stargate, or Gate for short," Sheppard added. "What do you say?"

She frowned at him. They were offering her a chance to remove the tracking device in her back, if that truly were possible…

"It is not possible to remove the tracking device," she told him.

"I was a Runner," the taller man stated. She looked up at him with new interest. His gaze met hers directly and she saw the truth of what he said. "These people helped me."

A frisson of real honest hope burst through her. It had been so long since she had ever felt that. She looked back to Sheppard, considering him and using skills long neglected to determine his honesty.

"If I go with you they will be able to track me up until the moment you remove the tracking device," she pointed out. "Leading them to Atlantis."

He nodded as if he had already thought of that, and looked away to the rest of his people.

"Carson?" Sheppard called out through the trees. "You feel like having a go at another tracking device?"

A man looked up, his short dark hair slightly dishevelled from the fight. "I'll take a look…"

He headed towards them, holding a small device in his hand, and as he reached them he smiled kindly at her.

"This is Doctor Carson Beckett," Sheppard introduced the new man. "Carson, this is…?"

"Teyla Emmagan," she replied saying her name out loud to another for the first time in many long years.

"We're pleased to meet you, Teyla Emmagan," Sheppard replied with another smile.

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THE END


End file.
